Lawyers, Guns, and Money
by AngelicDragons
Summary: An AU situation where everyone is in a little bit different place. Jim Beckett hit the job instead of the bottle and created a company to help other, whatever kind of help that might be.
1. Lawyers, Guns, and Money

**I know that his looks like the beginning to some large, involved, AU story. It's not. This is all I have. Basically this set up was solely so I could write a story called "Lawyers, Guns, and Money". Yes, I'm a Warren Zevon fan. "Werewolves of London" has already been used and I couldn't work in "Excitable Boy" or "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner."**

**Please enjoy this movie teaser like one shot. It's all build up with absolutely no payoff.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle, Warren Zevon, "Lawyers, Guns, and Money", "Werewolves of London", "Excitable Boy" or anything else that anyone would be interested enough to write about.**

* * *

Jim Beckett put down his sandwich and stared at the man across the desk from him. Javier Esposito had helped him start this company. Helped him get justice for Johanna. Jim had thrown himself into his work after his wife's death. Any case of any type. He ended up helping some vets with things that occurred to them with the Vet Admin and DOD. That's how he had met Javier the first time. After a little while he started looking into his wife's murder. He uncovered a kidnapping conspiracy connected to the appeals case that Johanna was working on. Three days later Javier showed up at his house with a friend, Hal Lockwood. Hal told him that he was being blackmailed, his kids safety, to kill not only Captain Montgomery, his two accomplices, but Jim and his daughter as well. The resulting mess brought down a senator and motivated Jim, Javier, and Hal to form a security/legal company. Javier wanted to call the company The A-Team. Jim and Hal were both Warren Zevon fans, so Lawyers, Guns, and Money was formed. Everything was officially called LGM Inc., but the founders knew what it stood for.

That had all happened seven years ago. Three years after that, the company helped on a high profile celebrity murder and kidnapping case that his daughter had been working on as a detective in the NYPD. Not long after that case she had left the NYPD and become part of the company. Those two cases allowed LGM to create quite the list of powerful clients in the government, industry, business, and entertainment. And now Javi was telling him something he simply couldn't believe.

"So, your army buddy, Rick Rogers, known the world over as Richard Castle was on a book tour in Europe, Ukraine to be precise, when the whole Russian thing occurred. While he was trying to get out of the country, a group impersonating Russian military raided the hotel and separated the guest out. It was only at that time that everyone realized it was a kidnapping. His daughter has been taken and a ransom of two million is supposed to be delivered in roughly", Jim glanced at his watch, "72 hours?"

"Yep. He knows what I do and he knows the company's reputation. He wants it handled by the best. Ryan is already on his way to make contact."

Kevin Ryan, had been in the Police Academy when his talent for languages got noticed along with his Irish background. He got put undercover in the Irish mob for almost two years. The job ended successfully but Kevin's identity had been completely blown at the very end. Rather than get shoved into some other duty at the NYPD or FBI he approached a police academy class mate that had just left to enter the private sector. With Kate's glowing recommendation and his credentials Jim and the guys didn't even interview him, just offered him the job.

"He was in London anyway. Hal says he's in and we are pulling a list for the team. What we need is command and control. Someone who can work the politics and the money. Someone that won't have to come here and ask permission or work through someone else. Not one of the new guys and someone that definitely knows the culture and language."

Like someone that spent a year in Kiev as an exchange student and goes back to visit often because she loves the place."

"Exactly. You know somebody?"

Jim let a smile creep across his face. "Oh, you know them too. Just let me make a call."

As Javi left the office Jim picked up his phone and dialed a number from memory. It only rang once before it was answered.

"Dad. I said space. After that last fiasco, I'm not sure I can do this anymore. I may go back to law school. I may live of the money you're making at the company. I need time and perspective to make a decision like that, though I'm leaning toward mooching off of you. Calling me a week into my vacation is not space. I told you I need to listen to the universe. I respect the universe."

"Well Katie the universe just called. It said that Richard Castle's daughter has been kidnapped in the Ukraine and he wants us to handle the payment and handover." Had it been anyone other than his daughter, Jim would have been certain the noise he heard was a squeal, but Katherine Beckett didn't squeal. After a moment of silence he continued. "Don't you respect the universe?"

"I'll be there in forty." And with that the line went dead.

* * *

Thirty-eight and half minutes later Kate Beckett walked through the doors of her dad's office setting a go bag down in the corner. She didn't even say hello.

"Why the hell was he in the Ukraine? Doesn't he know it's a damn war zone? What happened to his daughter? Who is running the tactical team? Who is making first contact? Have you made contact yet?"

"Nice to see you too, Katie. Thank you for cutting your vacation short."

"Dad?" she hit him with the glare she picked up while being a Homicide Detective. It didn't have the desired effect.

"He is Javi's friend so he is heading up the team with Hal. Kevin is making first contact. He is catching a flight from London to Kiev now. I swear there isn't a language he doesn't know. I want you to run the operations…"

"Wait. Javi's friend? Richard Castle is Javi's friend? How? Why didn't I know this? I'll kill him."

"Then you would have to admit to being a Richard Castle fan girl and we both know that is a tightly held secret. You would never live it down. You are turning red right now, and I'm your father."

"Fine. Have you called him yet?"

"I was waiting for you." With that Jim picked up the phone and began dialing.

"Richard Castle."

"Mr. Castle. This is Jim Beckett from LGM Inc. I also have my daughter Katherine here. Javi has given me the broad outline of what happened. But I would like to hear it from you."

Richard Castle took a deep breath into center himself. "We were on a book tour. When this whole Russian thing happened we were getting ready to leave. In fact we were actually headed to the car when what we believed to be Russian soldiers entered the hotel. They didn't shoot anyone, but they brought plenty of firepower. They were really good separating us. We were in the lobby on our knees with our backs to them. One of them was speaking English. He's the one that started ordering people to stand up and then the group of standing individuals where walked out."

Both Jim and Kate heard a sob on the phone. "I should have done something when they stood Alexis up, but they were all armed and I can't help her dead. I offered money, myself, anything if they let her go. That's when I got hit in the back of the head. When I came too, they were gone and roughly a third of the guest were as well. The Kiev police and Ukraine military are investigating, but when I got the ransom demand, I called Javi. He said you could help."

"Mr. Castle" Kate spoke up. "You did the right thing. You were out manned and out gunned. The best way to help your daughter, Alexis, is to stay alive. A member of our company, Kevin Ryan, is already on his way to you. He should be arriving shortly. I will be leaving her in the next two hours with a team to oversee the transaction. It is your intention to pay the ransom, correct?"

"Yes. Yes. Whatever they want to get my girl back, absolutely."

"Alright Mr. Castle." Jim continued. "Kevin will be in contact with you when he lands. If you need anything dial this number or contact Kate. I've just texted you her information."

"One last thing Mr. Castle." Kate finished "I know she is your baby, but please, don't do anything foolish. Wait for us to get there and get in place. Alright."

"I'll do my best. Thank you."

"Don't thank us till this is over Mr. Castle. I will talk to you soon." Kate finished. Jim and Kate waited for Castle to hang up the phone. Kate stood from the chair. "Well this is a mess. I'll reach out to my contacts in Kiev, on both sides of the law, and see if anyone knows anything. I'm going to go get Javi and Hal moving."

"I'll call the hangar and get one of the cargos up and ready."

"Thanks Dad."

"Be careful Kate."

"Always."


	2. The Flight Out

**First I want to apologize for my outburst story the other day. It was over the top, sad, mean spirited, and ,worst of all, poorly written. It's been deleted and will never be mentioned again. I've learned my lesson. Never write mad. If you do write mad, have the good sense not to publish the stupid thing.**

**Now, I have also learned something else. I will never again write anything and call it a one shot. I am apparently incapable of keeping my trap shut. Here the second chapter of yet another one shot.**

**Please temper you expectations for this story. When you finish reading this you will know as much about what is going on as I do. I have no idea when or if anything else will come to me.**

**I did realize that I've managed to create an entire back story that I could write out in detail just to get everybody here to this point. I'm especially curious as to how everyone takes what I've done with Lockwood. Apparently I have some sort of subconscious desire to turn all the bad guys good. Check my story "Fallout" to understand what I mean.**

**On with the show.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

* * *

Cargo planes. All the soldiers were used to flying on these things. They stowed their gear and then did their best to relax or rest because they didn't know what was at the end of flight. Kate hated the things. It wasn't just that they were uncomfortable, which they were, is was the vibration. It always made her teeth hurt. She popped two Motrin and leaned forward into her hands. The first time this had happened she had made the mistake of leaning her head back against the fuselage of the plane. That had been an incredibly stupid move. It set off a migraine that stayed with her for the entire 14 hour flight.

"Beckett, you alright?" Hal had walked over to her. "I didn't know you got air sick."

"I don't. It's these cargo planes. The vibration affects some fillings I have. I need to get them fixed but I hate the dentist." Kate said without moving her head from her hands.

"You are afraid of the dentist?" Hal sounded shocked by the confession.

That made Kate look up. "I said I don't like them. I didn't say anything about fear."

"I didn't think so." Hal walked back toward the rear of the plane where the gear was.

Kate groaned and sat up. She grabbed her back pack and went to pull out the book she brought. She had just purchased it and hadn't had a chance to start it yet. She was just about to pull it out of her bag when she realized whose book it was.

"Crap!"

If they caught her reading the latest Richard Castle book while on an assignment for the man she would never hear the end of it. The problem was she didn't have anything else to do for the flight.

"Screw it."

If they gave her any grief about it she would just tell them it was for research. If they questioned her reasoning she would quiz them about the man and the mission until they didn't know one of the answers to a questions she asked. That would put them in their place and allow her to keep a little of her dignity.

* * *

Hal Lockwood stretched out on the floor of the plane on his sleeping bag and rested his head on his ever present backpack. The fact that could rest like this while on a cargo plane attested to just how much time he had spent in service. Over time he had found it to be the second most comfortable way he ever slept. The first of course being at home in bed with his wife.

As he closed his eyes to get some rest before everything went into overdrive he marveled at the events that got him to his current situation. There he had been, sitting in a bar working his way into a blind drunk when by complete chance Javier Esposito walked in and saw him there. If he had been anything other than completely wasted he never would have told Javi about the threat on the lives of his family or the things he was being forced to do. However, the universe as Jim called it, smiled on him that night. Javi actually knew one of the people that Hal was supposed to kill. Just the thought sent a chill down his spine. With typical Javi "charge straight ahead" thinking, he pulled Hal out of the bar and took him directly to Jim's house. In a drunken haze he had told Jim the entire story from the beginning. How he had been working security jobs since leaving the military. He though getting the job with Cerebus Enterprises was the job of a life time. He had only been there a week before he got called into an office and given review of everything he had ever done in service to his country. Even the classified, blacked out things. That's when they threatened his wife and kids. That's when they showed him that he had been framed for other operations they had done since he had been hired. How he had been sent on jobs to locations where the company was operating other teams. He thought for sure that Jim would immediately contact the police to turn him in. Jim did call the police, not to turn him in, but to get him help. They actually went to Captain Montgomery, one of the other names on the list. They faked Montgomery's death to keep Hal's family safe and to force a meet with the people threating his family. That had started the domino's falling that eventually got justice for Jim and his daughter. He would always be in debt to Jim for what he did, Javi as well. It was great making good money, having a happy family, but what really made it, was helping people. Hal was taking all the skills he had and making lives better. That's the thought he held in his mind as he finally fell asleep.

* * *

The Richard Castle. Just be professional Kevin. Be professional. The man's daughter has been kidnapped and the last thing he needs is the guy he expects to help get her back to be a bumbling fan. Kevin straightened as the elevator came to a stop. Richard Castle was still in the same hotel room he had been in when everything happened. It was the smart move. This way if his daughter escaped on her own he would be at the one place she would most likely return to.

Kevin walked down the hall and knocked on the doors at the end. The door was opened by a blonde woman a little older than Kevin. He held out his official LMG Inc identity card and introduced himself. "My name is Kevin Ryan. I work with LMG Inc. I'm here to talk to Mr. Castle about his missing daughter."

The lady smiled politely. "Yes. I'm Gina Cowel. I'm Rick's publisher." She stepped back and opened the door wider to let Kevin in.

As he entered the suite another lady approached and offered her hand. "I'm Rick's agent. Thank you for coming so quickly."

"Of course." Kevin continued into the suite and set his back pack down on the coffee table while taking a seat on the sofa. "In situations like this, time is of the utmost importance. To that end, I really need to talk Mr. Castle about what happened in greater detail. We have the broad strokes of what happened, but the more information we have the better the outcome will be."

"Of course." Gina said. "I'll get him." With that she walked out of the room toward the master bedroom.

The man that accompanied her back out of the bedroom bore only a passing resemblance to the man on the dust cover of the book he brought with him. His hair was wild, his skin was pale, and his eyes were blood shot. It was obvious he hadn't slept since his daughter had gone missing. This was always the trickiest part of the meeting. Mr. Castle was obviously completely distraught and not functioning at one hundred percent. He was experiencing the worst moment of his life. In moments like this anything could set a person off, including absolutely nothing. Kevin had found that being straight forward and honest was the best way to go.

"Mr. Castle, I can't begin to imagine what you are going through and I'm not going to sit here and tell you I can. All I can promise you is that everyone I work with and myself will do everything and anything we have to to get your daughter back. The first step in that is to go over what happened when your daughter was taken." Kevin saw him begin to argue. "Mr. Esposito has already give us the broad strokes of what occurred but in situations like this even the smallest detail can be important."

Mr. Castle began to slowly nod his head. Kevin pulled out a pen and pad from his backpack to take notes. Castle began the morning of the invasion. He even remembered what they had eaten for breakfast. As he continued, Kevin couldn't help but notice, the story telling he was famous for. The man couldn't help but be very descriptive in anything he said. Normally Kevin had to press and prod for detail. In this instance he was having to be sure to stick only to the pertinent facts. It was so easy to get lost in the story Castle was weaving. How the soldiers descended on the hotel in force. How everyone was quickly subdued and bound. They all were sat on the floor and blind folded. Right before the blind fold went on was the last time that Castle had seen his daughter. He began to cry openly when recounting the fear that he was in her eyes. Kevin didn't say anything. He simply allowed his friends to comfort him until he could move on.

Roughly forty five minutes later, Kevin had the most complete story ever given to him by a client. "Mr. Castle, I'm going to stay here with you until the rest of the team arrives. I'm going to take your statement and send it to the team now. They may have more questions for you after reading it. Are there any questions you have for me?"

Castle looked up from his hands and simply shook his head from side to side.

* * *

Kate was a third the way through the book when Tori sat down beside her. Tori handed her a data pad.

"Here is Kevin's report. I have to say that it has to be the most detailed witness statement I've ever seen. You can almost see the whole thing in your mind's eye."

Kate took the offered piece of technology. "Well, he is a world famous author. I guess it's hard to turn off the story telling part of the brain. I certainly hope that we can get something useful from it." Kate quickly scanned the statement. "So, no more contact from the kidnappers?"

"Nope, not as of receiving this five minutes ago."

"Then I guess it's time for me to reach out."

"You know, one day, you are going to have to tell me how an upper crust Manhattenite ended up with connections in the Ukrainian mafia. That has to be one hell of a story."

"No, not really." Kate smiled to herself. The actual story was so simple and completely unbelievable she stopped trying to explain it to people. They always thought she was lying anyway. The simple truth was that she spent the summer between her freshman and sophomore year in Kiev. She had stayed with a nice family. They had two daughters her age and a younger son. She had been there two weeks studying and touring around the city when she found out who the family sponsoring her was. She had been out with Halyna and Sveta. They had all gone to a little coffee shop. The sisters were still inside waiting on their orders and Kate had gone outside to wait. Apparently she still looked too much like a tourist, because two young men approached her and drew a knife. Kate was just about to bolt when Halyna and Svet walked out of the little shop calling her name. Upon seeing the two girls, the two criminals turned ashen white, apologized to Kate and ran down the street. That's how can learned that there father was an underboss in the Ukrainian mafia. Since that time Svet had moved to New York city, Kate had come back to visit several times and there father, who Kate simply called "Little Bear" because he was 6'4'' and 300lbs, had become the head of the Kiev mafia. If anyone knew who was impersonating soldiers and kidnapping for Ransom. It would be "Little Bear".

Kate pulled out the satellite phone and punched in the numbers she read from her regular cell phone.


	3. The Politics Of Contraband

Jim hung up his phone. It had taken almost two hours but he had greased the wheels to get everything that was currently bound on a C-130 to Kiev through customs. Even after all this time it amazed him what a little bit of money could accomplish when given to the right person. He laughed to himself. When had a $250,000.00 become a little bit of money? In America and Western Europe, moving guns was very difficult but not impossible. Eastern Europe was like the third world, just pay the right people and no one cared. It disturbed him that it was so easy but it also made him happy that it made his job easier.

He opened an email on his computer. He sent the details to the team in the air along with the name of a contact when they landed. It's not like it would be much trouble. Kate's connections trumped even his money bought connections. When she had returned from that trip and mentioned who she had actually stayed with, he had completely flipped. The thought of his little girl living with such a hardened criminal turned his blood to ice in his veins. He was both thankful and angry that she hadn't told him until she had gotten back. The fact that he was now sending her into the situation deliberately amazed him. Of all the things he thought he would never do as a father.

* * *

Kate's phone call was answered on the second ring. She easily recognized the heavy accent on the other end of the line.

"Hello, Uncle Little Bear."

"Little Bird! So good to hear from you so soon. If you are calling for Halyna she is vacationing in France."

"No Uncle, unfortunately this is a business call. My apologies for having to involve you, but everyone else we talk to is coming up dry."

"Nonsense. Ask your questions. Anything for you Little Bird."

"In the last day a group dressed as Russian soldiers raided a hotel, kidnapping a large number of people for ransom. We have a client that has been contacted and will pay the ransom, because his daughter was taken. I wanted to know if you knew anything about it."

"A client? A kidnapping? Here in Kiev? When?"

"Yesterday morning. The client is Richard Castle." She answered.

"Richard Castle the author? I love his books." Kate heard the serious tone in her uncle's voice when he began speaking again. "Kidnappings are a very dangerous thing. People take such things personally. There has been an agreement for over a decade that such things will not be done in country. A family member's daughter was taken in the 90's. It lead to a bloody and costly war in which everyone lost. It will not be anyone local. I will see what is being said about this incident and contact you. When do you land?"

"We are still several hours away uncle. I promise to contact you when we land."

"Of course. Please do not leave without stopping by. It has been so long."

"I will uncle. Thank you for your help."

"Do not mention it, Little Bird. You are family. Besides, kidnapping is an ugly business, suitable only for dogs. I will await your call."

With that the line disconnected. Kate was relieved that it wouldn't be one of the local families. She had been very worried it would be some sort of mafia war. But, the truce inside the Ukraine, more importantly, Kiev was strong, so this was most likely some sort of outside group taking advantage of the situation.

* * *

It still amazed Kate how easy it was to get through customs. They had brought enough firepower to invade a nation already at war, but nothing was said. It really did come down to 'who you know' and 'money talks'.

Outside the airport they loaded up a Land Rover and two vans. Kate was sitting in the back seat of the Land Rover going over everything they had up till that time. So far this looked to be a very professional kidnapping. As ridiculous as it sounded, this was a good thing. Professionals were in it for the money and knew what they were doing. That meant that the hostage wouldn't be hurt for fun or pleasure. It also meant that when you paid the money the hostage was returned. It was the amateurs that always did something stupid that got people killed. She had learned that lesson the hard way.

As she was skimming her notes, her phone vibrated. She pulled out the device to see her uncle's face.

"Hello Uncle."

"Hello Little Bird. It appears that the Albanians have decided to take advantage of the current situation in our country and do a little fund raising."

That sent a chill down Kate's spine. Albanians were also well known for the slave trade. A young red head would fetch a fair price. "Albanians? Are they trafficking?"

"Not here. Never here. The last Albanian to traffic people in Ukraine never left. I have his head down stairs if you ever want to see it."

"If we pay, what are the chances of getting the girl back? Are we dealing with businessmen or animals?" It sounded like a foolish question. The thing was, criminals viewed themselves different ways. If they thought the kidnapping was a simple business transaction then it could be that simple to end. If they didn't, things would be unpredictable, and that was always bad.

"Normally I would say businessmen. The Albanians deal in a dirty trade, but they do it for money. This group though is operating in Kiev without permission from me or from the clans in Albania. I'm unsure how they will operate. I have people feeling for the location now. I might having something for you in the next few hours."

"Thank you Uncle. Until I know more I will proceed on the assumption that his will be treated as a business transaction and act in good faith." Kate pressed in the end button on her phone.

She looked up at the passenger seat. "Hal, you still have friend is the intelligence community over here?"

"Of course."

"Can you see what they know about a group of Albanians operating in the area? Whoever these people are they aren't in contact with the Kiev underground and they apparently aren't operating on orders from the homeland either."

"Cowboys? This is going to suck." Javi said.

* * *

As the rest of the team took rooms elsewhere in the hotel, Kate, Javi, and Hal made their way to the presidential suite to meet with the client.

Both Hal and Javi noticed Kate's figgiting in the elevator, but didn't saying anything about. They didn't want to knock her off her game. They did exchange questioning looks however, this was not the calm and collected woman they were used to working with.

When Kate knocked on the door, Kevin answered.

"Hey Kev. Heard anything else?" Kate said by way of greeting.

"Nope, not a word. Mr. Castle has the money together. It's at the First National Bank. We were waiting on everyone to arrive before making the trip. This place looks normal but it's more like the Wild West right now. I thought the extra security would be needed when moving that much money."

"Absolutely." Hal agreed. "Everyone is putting on a brave front out there, but you can feel the tension."

"So, where is Mr. Castle?" Kate asked.

"He's in the living room with this publisher, Gina Cowell, and agent, Paula Haas."

"How's he holding up?" Javi asked.

Kevin shrugged his shoulders. "His daughter is being held for ransom. As good as can be expected. You know him, Javi. Maybe you can get a read on him."

"That's a good idea Kevin." Kate turned to Javi. "When we enter, you do the introductions. See how he's doing, then we can move on to the business at hand."

Javi nodded his head once then headed in the direction Kevin pointed.

As they entered the room Javi quickly walked over to his friend who rose from the couch to greet him.

"Rick, I'm sorry man. How are you holding up?" Javi took the offered hand pulling him into a hug.

"I good as can be expected, I guess. Thanks a lot for this Javi. I owe you." Rick said returning the hug with a slap on the back.

Javi let go of his hand taking a step back. He waved toward his two companions. "This is Hal Lockwood. He's former special forces and alpha team leader." Hal stepped forward shaking Rick's hand. "This is Katherine Beckett, former Detective with NYPD. She is the person in charge."

Kate took a step forward offering her hand. "You can call me Kate." As his larger hand grasped her smaller one, Kate felt both fire and electricity fly up her arm, through her chest, and to all the places that frayed her nerves in the best possible way. She certainly hoped there was no outward sign of the sensation that just shot through her system. The reaction her body was having to the simplest and impersonal of touches was completely inappropriate for the situation they found themselves in. She pulled her hand back a little too quickly but covered by coughing to clear her throat. "Sorry."

Rick, for his part, either didn't notice what happened or had the decency not to comment as he invited everyone to take a seat.

"Mr. Castle." Kate began.

"Please, call me Rick. You are helping get my daughter back. I think we can dispense with formalities."

"Rick, Kevin has related to the team everything you've told him so far. I just wanted to ask a few more questions, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." Rick rubbed his face with both hands.

Kate had to admit he was handling this well. His daughter was missing, taken by force no less, and here he was calmly, even politely, answering question from total strangers. She knew she wouldn't, hadn't, handled the situation nearly as well.

Kate had him run through the whole series of events again, just to be sure she hadn't missed anything when reading what Kevin had sent. It only took about thirty minutes.

"Thank you, Mr. Castle. I can't begin to understand how hard this is, but I wanted to be sure I hadn't missed anything."

"You are just doing your job and your best to help me find my daughter. It's alright."

About that time Hal put this hand to his ear saying "Repeat the name." He waited a second and turned to Kate. "Do you know a Petro Belenko?"

"Yes, that Uncle Belenko's son. He's here? Send him up." Kate turned to Castle. "Please excuse me, Mr. Castle. We have local people we trust getting information for us. This is one of them."

"Of course." Richard Castle just leaned back on the couch he was sitting on, tilting his head back, and closing his eyes.

* * *

Outside in the hall, Kate, Hal, and Javi waited in front of the elevator waiting for Petro. As the doors opened Petro stepped off the elevator.

"Big sister." He brought Kate in for a hug. "My apologies for simply appearing here without calling, but papa wanted you to know immediately." He cut his eyes to Javi and Hal.

"This is Javi Esposito and Hal Lockwood. I work with them." Everyone shook hands.

"Ah. I didn't want to give this information in front of the father. We have found the location that the victims are being held at. It's a warehouse on the edge of the city. They are being held in cargo containers. By all appearances they are planning on moving them, soon."

"Dammit." Hal exclaimed.

Kate just shook her head. "What does your gut say? Are they moving them if they don't pay the ransom or is this going to happen regardless?"

"They are going to move them. The individual running this needs the money. He's on the run after losing an internal struggle with his clan. They are hunting him as we speak. He and those with him can't afford to stay still long enough to collect the ransom. They are going to dump the hostages into the system."

Javi cut in. "What the timeline?"

"Six to twelve hours. Human trafficking is viewed poorly, even on this side of the law. They are going to have trouble finding transportation. That's how we found out about it. Some of the individuals they approached came to papa because they didn't like the way things felt."

"Thank you Petro. Tell Uncle I owe him."

"You owe us nothing. Do you want help?"

"I don't want to put anyone in harm's way. We have enough man power, but someone with knowledge of the area would be great." Hal offered.

"Then I'm here to help." Petro said with a smile.

"Do we tell Rick?" Javi looked directly at Kate.

That was an incredibly good question. The ransom exchange was completely off the table. There was no way he would not want them to do everything necessary to save his daughter, but the odds of this turning out with a happy ending were quickly dwindling to zero.

"We will tell him we have received some information that we need to look into. We tell Kevin everything and put him on comms. That way he can tell Castle if and when the situation dictates he needs to know. Hal, go get the guys ready. Javi, you talk to Castle. He's your friend. I'll talk to Kevin."

* * *

Kate's conversation with Kevin didn't last very long. She hadn't expected it to. She walked back into the living room where Javi was still with Castle. As Javi stood up, Castle looked up at Kate. For a moment their eyes met. Kate remembered the last time she saw devastation like that in a father's eyes. It had led her to leave the NYPD. She hoped that she could give Richard Castle the same happy conclusion she had given that family years ago.

Kate and Javi left the room and entered the elevator together.

"What did you tell him?"

"That we had what might be a lead. That we were going to very carefully and quietly look into it. That if this lead turned out to the true, it was something we had to go with."

"What did he say?"

"He didn't. I asked him if he trusted me. He said yes. Now you and I are in this elevator."

* * *

In the parking garage of the hotel, Kate and Javi caught up with Petro, Hal, and the rest of the team.

"Ok, this is a simple look and see right now. Everyone remains calm. Nobody does anything until I give the go ahead. Remember, there are a lot of hostages here. We do everything right the first time. Petro and I will do a walk by. Everybody watches our back. Comm check on the way." Kate looked around to see if there were any questions. "Alright, mount up."

Javi drove the Range Rover while the rest of the team divided up between the two vans. As Kate got into the passenger seat, Petro climbed in back. "It will only take twenty minutes to get there." He looked at his phone. "There has been no change at the location."

Javi looked in the review mirror. "You have eyes at the location."

Petro smiled back at him. "As you say in America, this is not my first rodeo."

Kate just laughed as Javi pulled out of the garage followed by the two vans.


	4. Violence Of Action

**I really should stop this story. I don't update on any sort of regular basis. I just work on it now and again when inspiration strikes and usually only get a paragraph or two out at a time. I hate to think there are people out there waiting to see what happens. Unfortunately, I'm really enjoying writing it. It's so different, that other than personalities, which are the same, I can do just about anything I want. I mean I made Hal Lockwood not only a good guy, but a family** man.

**So, here is the next chapter. Please enjoy, because I don't know when there will be another one.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

* * *

The little convoy stopped three blocks from the location that Petro's people had under surveillance. Kate came on the net. "Alright. Petro and I are taking a walk. Everybody keep your eyes open. The go word is 'goldilocks'. Copy."

Hal answered. "Roger. We hear 'goldilocks' we come in shooting."

Kate turned to look at Petro. "Ready?"

"No. I would very much prefer not to be shot at today, but let's do this." Petro opened the door climbing out of the Range Rover.

Hal spoke into the comms. "Alright everyone. Stay sharp. If they give the word, we are going to have to move fast.

Petro and Kate walked along at a leisurely pace. They certainly didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

"Hold my hand." Kate whispered.

Petro reached over grabbing her hand. "Don't tell Hellen. I will never hear the end of it."

Kate tried not to laugh. "You should marry the girl. It's been over a year."

"We are engaged. That's why you can't tell her."

"It's about time." Kate took a look at the warehouse.

Kate and Petro were walking down the opposite side of the street the warehouse that they were looking at was located on. From a distance things didn't look out of the ordinary. As they got closer, that perception quickly changed. No one was standing in front of the building, but there were pairs of guards at each corner of the building. Those were the only people they could see, so they had to assume the rest were inside.

"They are heavily armed." Petro pointed out. "This will end badly."

"Will it end better if we let them move the hostages?" Kate asked as they continued walking.

"No. It will end much, much worse." Petro confessed.

Kate activated the comms. "The entire place is locked down. We can't see anything. I can tell you that the four guards standing in the shadows are heavily armed."

"Well that's amazingly bad news." Hal answered.

"At least they are still here." Javi offered.

"If we go in shooting, we are going to cost a lot of lives." Kate reasoned.

"If we don't we could lose all of the lives." Hal said.

"I'm open to suggestions." Kate offered.

"I have an idea, but no one is going to like it."

"Who the hell was that?" Kate asked.

"Oh crap! Rick! What the hell man? Where are you?" Javi yelled into the comm.

"I'm one block behind you, leaning against the building. I stole the comm unit from the equipment you set up in the hotel room. I spent several months with a thief for one of my books. I followed the group here. Took a taxi. Wasn't too hard."

"You are leaving right now Mr. Castle." Kate was fuming. "You are endangering the rescue attempt of not only your own daughter but everyone else in that building."

"Don't you want to hear my idea?"

Kate ground her teeth. She wanted him out of harm's way, but they did need an idea. "Fine."

"We get a truck and show up saying we heard about the job. Everyone gets in the back of the truck, they let us in. A Trojan Horse at its finest."

"That's your plan? Where are you going to get a truck? Hot wire one? Did you learn that for a story?" Kate deadpanned.

"Actually I did. However, I have the ransom money, I'm pretty sure we can simply purchase one of the local ones. Before we go in, you should call the authorities, friends, or anyone else you need to get here while we do this little deal."

"Who's going to drive this truck?" Javi asked.

"Learned that as well." Castel answered.

"It's too risky." Kate asked. "We could lose you, Mr. Castle."

"That doesn't matter. You just get my daughter and the others out of there. That's the job." Castle responded.

"Mr. Castle, I won't pretend to understand what you are going through, but you brought us here to do a job. We are here to get your daughter back, unharmed. As part of that we are to keep you unharmed as well. Sending you into that building is not keeping you safe."

"My safety doesn't matter. Only Alexis's does." Castle yelled.

"Yes, it does. It's my job to keep you both safe. I've had to tell parents that their children are dead, children that their parents are dead, wives their husbands. I am not doing that today. Hal, get the money from Castle and go get a truck. Javi, go get Mr. Castle and put him in the Range Rover. He is your responsibility and he doesn't leave that car. Handcuff him if you have to. Petro, can you make the call to your father? We are going to need a ton of backup when all this goes pear shaped."

Kate and Petro walked back to the vehicles in silence. As she approached the Range Rover, Kate could see Castle in the passenger seat. She walked over and opened the car door. "Don't get out of this car, Mr. Castle. I wasn't joking when I said Javi would handcuff you. This is going to be dangerous enough without having a wild card in the mix from our side."

Hal pulled up in the large cargo truck behind Kate and the rest of the team began piling in. "Just get my daughter back, Miss Beckett. That's all that matters."

"We are doing our best Mr. Castle." Kate turned to Petro who had just arrived.

Petro gave a rundown of what was happening. "They are gathering now. Out people will be here in fifteen minutes. Police forces will be in in half an hour."

Kate looked at her watch, then spoke into the comm. "Everybody get ready. We roll in five minutes."

Kate walked around to the passenger side of the truck and climbed in. "You ready Hal?"

"No. This plan is a drop kick. I hate drop kicks. That's when fumbles happen."

"You know, I wish you would speak in baseball metaphors. I like them better."

"Ok." Hal turned to look Kate in the face. "How about 'the sacrifice'?"

Kate winced. "Football metaphors it is." She started looking at her watch again. "Sixty seconds. Everyone sound off."

All twenty-two people in the back of the truck called in.

"Rolling out." Hal called.

As the truck approached the front of the warehouse the guards from the corners appeared from the shadows.

Kate could hear the two on Hal's side ask what they were doing there in Russian. He answered back that he had heard they were hiring drivers and he needed the work. They told him they would have to talk to the boss.

Kate saw a small door open in the front of the warehouse and what she assumed to be the leader come out. The first question out of his mouth was how Hal had heard about the job. Hal answered that word was on the street.

"He's not buying it." Kate whispered into her mic. "We are going to have to take them. Hal take your side. I've got this side. When they are down, ram the door. Everyone in back, brace." Kate released the safety from her silenced pistol and began her countdown. "3. 2. 1. Now." Kate shot both individuals in the head. Hal shot the leader first and then the two beside him. The final guard got a shot off, but it went high. It was too late by then though, because Hal had already hit the gas and they were crashing through the door.

As the truck cleared the shattered door, bullets began to hit the cab. Both Hal and Kate ducked down to avoid the shots coming through the window. Hal aimed the truck at the largest group of individuals and accelerated. Kate cringed as she felt the truck run over several large bumps she knew had to be people.

Hal jammed the brakes and jumped from the cab. At the same time the remainder of the team dismounted from the back of the truck, guns up at the ready. The dynamic entrance had scattered the men inside the building everywhere. Everyone got behind any cover they could find. As she raced around the other side of the truck to clear the gunfire, Kate looked around the building for any place that the hostages could be.

"Kate." Hal called to her. "Over there." Hal pointed to the far corner of the warehouse on the other side of the truck. There were two hauling containers that were padlocked shut.

"Everyone be aware. They cargo containers on the far side are most likely where the hostages are. Watch your fire and don't let anyone get near them."

"Alpha team. Pin your guys against that wall." Hal started giving orders. "Keep them behind their cars. Bravo begin moving toward the containers. We need to get eyes on the hostages."

Affirmative answers came from the two team leaders. Kate immediately heard the volume of outgoing fire pick up. She began moving toward Bravo team to join them at the containers.

"Alpha team, grenade going out."

Kate ducked out of instinct. Moments later the grenade detonated taking two cars with it.

"That took the fight out of them." Hal's voice came across the comms.

The sound of gun fire tapered off as members of the Albanian gang came out with hands raised.

"I need bolt cutters!" Kate yelled.

A member of Alpha team stepped up easily removing the lock on the doors of the container. As they pulled the doors open Kate felt relief spread over her as she saw the faces of the captives.

"Alexis Castle! Alexis Castle! Are you here?" Kate yelled.

A pale red head stood up from the back of the container. "I'm Alexis Castle."

The teams began helping people out of the container. Kate made her way inside and helped Alexis out. "My name is Kate Beckett. These men are with me. Your father hired us to get you back."

"Is he here? Are we still in Kiev?" Alexis asked.

"Yes, he is here. You are still in Kiev."

"ALEXIS!" All heads turned at the shout. Richard Castle came running full tilt across the warehouse with Javi sprinting as fast as he could after him. He barely slowed as he engulfed his daughter in his arms, picking her up and spinning her around. "Are you OK? I thought I had lost you."

"Daddy!" Alexis yelled returning her father's exuberate embrace.

Castle, still holding Alexis, turned to face Kate and Hal. "Thank you so much. Thank. I own both of you."

Petro walked up to the group. "I see we have arrived too late to join in the excitement." Petro looked over the scene. "Kate, you might want to leave before the authorities get here. It will be much easier for me to explain this without American mercenaries here."

"You won't get in trouble, will you?" Kate didn't want leave her friend in trouble for something she and her team had done.

"Trouble? I will be credited with stopping an Albanian human trafficking ring inside the Ukraine posing as Russians. Everyone and their brother is going to owe us for this. I'll be a hero." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Right." She walked up and gave him a hug. "Next time I come, it will be for pleasure."

"Of course, now get out of here."

Hal didn't need to be told twice. "Everyone back to the vans. We are out of here."

It only took minutes for everyone to get back to the vehicles and vacate the area. Castle rode in back of the Range Rover with Alexis. Kate turned around in the seat to look at them.

"Mr. Castle. Getting a commercial flight out of the Ukraine right now isn't going to be easy. It's not first class by any means, but we can take you, your daughter, agent, and publisher back on our plane. You will need to pack quickly though."

Castle was still holding Alexis in a tight embrace in the back seat. "Pack? Forget that. Let's go to the airport and get the hell out of here. I just got my daughter back from Albanian kidnappers. The sooner we leave the better."

Kate pulled out her phone. "Kevin. We have Alexis. Everyone is coming with us. Mr. Castle wants to go straight to the plane and leave. Pack the equipment, bring Miss Haas and Miss Cowel with you. We will meet you at the airport. And Kevin, shag it." Kate hung up the phone.

"We are headed for the plane Hal." Javi spoke into the comms.

"Good. We have completely worn out our welcome here and the sooner we leave the better. I would prefer to be airborne before anyone finds out we gunned down a bunch of slavers." Hal responded.

* * *

When the three vehicle convoy made the airport, Kevin was already there and the ladies were on the plane.

"What did you do Kev, threaten them at gun point?"

"Nope, I told them what happened, they grabbed their overnight bags, and said they were ready to leave. They told the hotel to mail them the bill. We've been here ten minutes."

"Well, I guess you can't blame them. This is completely out of the ordinary for them." Kate said.

"I wish it was out of the ordinary for us." Javi said approaching the group.

"At least no one got shot this time." Hal said, joining the party.

"Who threw the grenade?" Javi asked.

"Marty. He was afraid the hostages were going to get shot, so he decided to end it."

"I'm putting him in for a raise." Kate said.

"I'll hold you to that. Now, let's get the gear on the bird so we can get out of here."

Javi and Hal walked off to help get the plane loaded. The pilots already had the engines turning and had finished the preflight check list.

Kate watched as Castle helped his daughter from the Range Rover and onto the plane. She followed them on to help them get secured. She watched Castle fasten his daughter in and then sit down and fasten himself in.

"I keep forgetting you were in the military." Kate said to no one in particular.

"Yeah, I usually try to forget myself." Castle's face turned serious. "I will owe all you forever for this."

"It's what we do, Mr. Castle. I'm just glad this had a happy ending."

"Me too, Miss Beckett. Me too."


	5. Home Again

**Here is my latest burst of inspiration for my none story. I'm hope you like it, and thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

* * *

The plane had just reached altitude from its last refueling stop and Kate was looking forward to being home. As she looked around the plane, most everyone was asleep. Even Castle's agent, Miss Cowel, had nodded off.

Kate was going over the events of the last several days in her mind and missed the person sit down next to her.

"I don't know how I'm ever going to thank you for this."

Kate turned to see Richard Castle sitting next to her. Her eyes immediately locking on his. She was struck by how blue they were. They were just as blue as they were on the dust cover pictures of his novels. She had always assumed that the pictures had been retouched. The second thing she noticed was how incredibly tired he looked. She had the strong urge to caress his face and reassure him everything would be alright. She settled for simple words of comfort.

"I'm just glad everything worked out for the best." Kate glanced over to see Alexis laid out on the bench on the opposite side of the cabin. She tilted her head toward the sleeping form. "How is she doing?"

"I'm not sure if it's completely set in yet."

"Yeah. Well I know quite a few people she could talk too, if she need too." Kate was well aware how a young woman could be affected by such traumatic events.

"Thanks. I was already considering something like that." Castle turned his head to look at his daughter. "Whatever she needs to feel normal again."

Kate smiled at the sentiment. "Just giver her time. Don't force her to talk about it, but be there when she needs you to be."

Castle let a sad smile ghost across his face. "How many time have you done this?"

"Entirely too many, but endings like this make it worth it."

Castle couldn't stop a yawn from escaping. "I'm so tired but I can't sleep. It's like being back in the service again."

Kate's curiosity came to the fore with the provided opening. "Yeah, about that. It's not anywhere in your bio and you never talk about it."

Castle quirked an eyebrow. "You are a fan?"

Kate could have slapped herself for being so obvious. She quickly deflected the question. "Research. The more you know about a client the better." It wasn't exactly a lie, but it certainly wasn't the whole truth.

"Well, the label and Gina don't think it fits the image of the jet setting bad boy. That's what sells the books."

Kate frowned at the statement. "I thought it was the story and character development that sold the books."

Castle put his hand over his heart and bowed his head. "Thank you. So did I. I'm assured, however, that we are wrong. Now, since that image is the way I'm viewed, I would just as soon keep my service quiet. I wouldn't want to tarnish my unit or the military with the ridiculousness that I am in the media."

When he said that something in Kate's mind clicked into place. "Wait. Javi was Special Forces. I know he was a Ranger. Then he got moved into another group later on."

Castle smiled at her realization. It was the first genuine smile she had seen since she met him.

"Yes. Yes he was." With that Castle rose from the bench. "I'm going to check on Alexis. Thank you again."

Kate wasn't deterred. "He said you were in the same unit."

"Did he?" With that he returned to his spot beside his sleeping daughter.

Kate's eyes followed him across the cabin.

* * *

Kate tried to get some rest, but it was pointless. It was bad enough she was on a cargo plane, but now she was obsessed with what Richard Castle had done in the military. She knew that questioning Castle wouldn't get her anywhere. That left only one person who she could interrogate.

She carefully made her way around the equipment and sleeping bodies until she found the person she was looking for.

Javi was sleeping soundly when the world began shaking violently. He bolted upright expecting the plane to be plummeting from the sky. Instead he awoke to the face of Kate Beckett.

"Beckett! What the hell?! I thought the plane was going down." Javi laid back down and rubbed his face. "What do you want?"

"You were a Ranger, right?"

"Am. I am a Ranger. You never stop being a Ranger."

"So Castle was in your Ranger battalion?"

"Huh? No. He isn't a Ranger." Had Javi been more awake he would have been far more wary of Kate's infamous curiosity.

"So, you met him later, when you moved to Special Forces command?"

"It's called JSOC. Yea. He was part of the …wait!" The questions that Kate were asking finally made it through the sleepy fog of his mind. "That's not any of your business, besides its classified."

"So he was Special Forces."

That's when he noticed the glint in her eyes. He had seen that before. When she had latched onto something and wasn't going to let it go. "What are you up too?"

"Nothing. Just curious."

Javi laughed. "You are never just curious. Look, you can't go digging into this. Not only is national security as stake, but he doesn't want to talk about it. I don't blame him. I'm not real gung ho to talk about it myself."

Kate got defensive. "I was just asking."

"Don't." Javi shut his eyes to go back to sleep. "Stop asking."

Kate realized she had gotten all the information she was going to get from Espo. She quietly made her way back across the plane to her seat.

"So Richard Castle had been part of Special Forces." Kate's mind was going into overdrive. Thinking of him as a squared away Special Forces solider really shouldn't have excited her the way it did. She wasn't that kind of girl. She didn't have a type, but to find out that the author she had crushed on for years was also a man of action was exciting. She looked over to see the man in the question slumped back, asleep. "You are just full of surprises aren't you, Mr. Castle."

* * *

By the time the plane landed the sun had risen. As the rear ramp of the plane descended Kate looked around and wondered how damaged everyone's sleep cycle was going to be. She knew hers would be a mess for a day or two, but that would be due to lack of sleep. As the ramp thudded onto the tarmac everyone stood up, gathered their things, and began shuffling off the plane.

"What time is it local?" Hal asked Javi.

"10:30 AM."

Hal turned at the top of the ramp and addressed everyone. "Alright. Everyone load up. We go back to HQ, square away and debrief. After that, four days' rest."

The assembled team all nodded their heads.

Gina approached Castle. "I arranged a car for you and Alexis. There is another for me and Paula."

"Thanks." Castle answered as he steered a still sleepy Alexis toward the indicated car.

* * *

Both Alexis and Castle were completely exhausted from the ordeal even though they had both slept most of the flight back. Unfortunately for them, as they opened the door to the loft, hurricane Martha descended.

"Darlings!" Martha flung herself at her family, wrapping them in a hug. Castle almost lost his footing and stumbled into the hall, having not had time to close the door. "I'm so happy you are alright. Let me look at you."

Alexis forced a weak smile. "I'm fine, grams." She answered as her grandmother held her face in her hands.

"Are you sure?" Martha's face showed her doubt and concern.

Alexis nodded her head. "I will be. I'm just really tired."

"Of course dear. Of course." Martha dropped her hands and took a step back, clearing Alexis's path to the stairs. Grandmother and father watched as she ascended.

Martha turned to her son. "How is she really?"

Castle sighed. "She' putting on a strong front. She hasn't really talked about it. Kate Beckett, from LMG, gave me her card. She said she could recommend people she could talk to."

Martha nodded her head in agreement and understanding. "And how are you, my boy?"

Castle walked across the room and collapsed on the couch. "I'm somewhere between the horror of losing her and the elation of saving her. Also, throw in bone weary."

"What happened?" Martha asked as she sat down next to her son.

"I told you on the phone."

Martha waived her hand dismissively. "You didn't say much just that you and the team got her back. What team? How did you get her back?"

"The team was Espo's people from LMG and people they had on the ground. As for the details, you don't really want to know."

Martha's face turned worried. "That's what you use to tell me every time you turned up battered and bruised after being away for 'training'."

Castle just smiled weakly.

"I thought being a bestselling novelist would mean you weren't going to be shot at anymore."

"If it makes a difference, so did I."

"I need a drink." Martha stood and headed for the kitchen.

"So do I." Castle quickly followed.

* * *

After a shower and short rest, Kate was in one of the conference rooms at the LMG offices. She had already written her reports, but she had to go over all the reports from the rest of the team because she was the onsite commander. Javi and Hal were also there going through there paperwork. She set down her pad and picked up her coffee.

"Last report done." She declared triumphly.

Hal looked up from his laptop. "I would rather be shot at than fill out these reports."

That's about the time Jim Beckett walked in. "I'm sure you would, but it's these reports that allow lawyers like myself to stop soldiers like you from going to jail. Especially when it occurs on foreign soil."

Hall hit the enter button on his laptop and closed the screen. "When you put it like that boss, it takes some of the sting out of it."

"Only some of it." Javi added, shutting down his own system.

"I will remind both of you of that the next time we end up in court."

Javi and Hall both stood and made their way to the door. "Courts are worse than paperwork." Hal mumbled as the door shut.

Jim turned and looked at his daughter. "Having sent you into another dangerous situation with gunplay, I feel I have failed as a father."

"I would end up in firefights regardless. It just pays better working here."

Jim shook his head. "I don't think that makes me feel better." Both shared a laugh, but then Jim became serious. "I've read the reports, but how are you."

"I'm fine dad. I'll be better after some rest." With that she finished off the last of her coffee.

"Fine. Go home and get some rest. You can tell me all about meeting your favorite writer later." Jim couldn't help but notice his daughter's eyes lighten.

"What did Espo tell you about his buddy Richard Castle?"

"Just that they served together. Why?" Jim looked at his daughter, puzzled.

"I asked Javi and he said that Castle wasn't in the Rangers, but was with him at JSOC. That makes Richard Castle Special Forces."

"OK." Jim wasn't sure why Kate was so excited. He knew lots of Special Forces guys, so did Kate. Half the company was former Special Forces, from five different countries no less.

"If he was Special Forces, it means that his Derrick Storm stories may not be all fantasy. The fighting, the shooting, even some of the plots could be real. They could be based on what he did in the military."

"That's a pretty big jump. For all you know he was intelligence or support for JSOC. It doesn't mean he was a door kicker."

A frown appeared on Kate's face.

"Sorry to rain on your parade Katie-bug." Kate growled at the use of the nickname at work. Jim just laughed it off. "Go home. Get some rest." Jim rose from his chair and let the room.

* * *

Martha came down stairs two hours later to the sounds of keys clicking in her son's office. She quietly made her way across the room, rapping lightly on the door before opening it.

"Richard. I thought you were resting?"

"I was, but I wanted to get some thoughts down about what happened."

"Richard! You can't possibly be putting what happened to Alexis in a book." Martha was shocked her son would do such a thing.

Castle just stared at his mother with a look of fake horror. "No mother. What I'm doing is brainstorming an idea about a female mercenary and the company she runs full of highly trained specialist. The stories practically write themselves."

"Really? Have you asked the people you are basing this on what they think? Not everyone likes to live in the public eye."

Castle scowled. "I haven't gotten that far yet. These are just ideas. Very rough ideas."

"Well, I'm very happy to see you writing again, regardless of the roughness." With that Martha turned and exited the room.

Castle looked down at this screen. He had lied. He was five chapters into the story already. Nikki Heat, he loved the name and its possibilities, had already save the life of Jameson Rook after he had been taken captive on assignment. After the very exciting rescue, Heat and Rook were on the flight back to the states. As he was writing the dialogue he couldn't help but put in all the things he wished he have said on his trip back.

He sat back in his chair. "Wow Rick. You need to get a grip. You are confusing your story with reality." With that he stood up from his chair and headed to his bedroom."


	6. After Action Report

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

* * *

Lanie Parish walked into her boss's/friend's office. She had ended up at LGM after leaving the Army. She had been a combat surgeon before taking a job at one of the large New York hospitals. She had met Kate years ago when she was a patrol officer. It seemed like Kate was in the hospital with a suspect, fellow cop, or herself at least once a week. The two had hit it off and formed a friendship. When Kate left the job and went to work for her Dad, she had offered Lanie a job soon after. For a company like LGM, having a top flight surgeon, with military experience, on the payroll was good idea.

As she sat down in the chair across from Kate's desk, she wasn't even acknowledged. She stared at her friends face and saw a mixture of frustration and confusion. After a couple of minutes she finally spoke.

"Kate?"

Kate looked up from her laptop. "There's nothing Lanie. Nothing at all. All I got was copy of his DD214 from a friend in the Defense Department, but it's the bare bones. I did find out he was a Marine, but it just says he was infantry. They couldn't find anything else that referenced Richard Rogers. He enlisted at 18 and served until his early thirties. That's all there is. No performance reports, no physical reports, no commendations. There aren't even transfer orders. He enlist, does nothing for over a decade, and then gets out. You know that doesn't happen. There isn't even a medical file."

Lanie looked at Kate, trying to figure out which question she should ask first. She decided to start at the beginning. "Who is Richard Rogers?"

"Richard Rogers is the given name of one Richard Castle, world famous crime writer." Kate answered with just a little too much wonder in her voice.

Lanie pretended not to notice. If she said anything now, her friend would close up and never speak about him again. "OK. I admit that is strange. I would ask if it's real, but since you got it from the DOD, I assume it must be." Lanie took another look at Kate. "What are you thinking?"

She looked a Lanie for a long minute before answering. "You are going to think I'm crazy, just like Dad."

"Try me."

Kate let out a breath. "Javi is a friend of Castle's. They met while working at Joint Special Operations Command. Javi was a sniper for the Rangers. The Marines weren't part of JSOC then, so whatever Castle was doing, was pretty unusual. I'm assuming he was either recon or also a sniper, but that's just a guess." Kate noticed her friends face soften and eyes get wide at the mention of Javier Espisito's name.

"Why don't you just ask Javi? You two are thick as thieves. Surely he will tell you what was going on."

"I did ask. He told me it was not only classified but none of my business."

"Wow."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"So now what?"

Kate remained silent averting her eyes away from her friend.

"What are you up too Kate Beckett?"

"What makes you think…"

"Don't give me that. You are incapable of not sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Javi's reply to you was like waving a red cape in front of a bull. What are you planning to do next?"

Kate squinted at Lanie. "Did you just call me a bull?"

"Not the point. What are you up to?"

"I called Tina." Kate ducked her head.

Lanie noticed that Kate looked shy. Kate was never shy. Ever. The thought hit Lanie like a thunderbolt. "Tina Sorenson? Will's wife? Why? Are you out of you mind? After the whole mess with how the relationship ended? Surely you can't need to know that badly?"

"She was an intelligence analyst for the DOD. She was temporarily assigned to JSOC for the time frame I'm looking at."

"But at the cost of your pride? She was your friend. He was your boyfriend. You walked in on the two of them in his apartment. You shouldn't ever speak to them again. Especially her."

"That's ancient history, Lanie. We can all be adults. Besides, she was in love with Will. Still is. I was just…I don't know what I was doing, but it wasn't love."

"It's still a betrayal of trust."

"For which she paid years of penance for. I thought you would be happy I buried the hatchet."

"Should have left that one lying around. You might need it to cut her head off."

"LANIE!"

* * *

"Rick," Paula shook her head. "I'm the biggest money grubbing, publicity seeking parasite you have ever met, but even I think this is a bad idea."

"Why? Of all the people I know, I thought for sure you would see the possibilities here."

"Oh, I see them. I just don't think they are as positive as you do."

"Come on. A book about a sexy female mercenary that travels the world saving people and stopping the bad guys. The stories write themselves. It's a license to print money."

"It's a license for said mercenary to put two bullets in your head." Paula leaned forward in her chair. "Did you not see the woman, Rick. Does she strike you as the type of individual that wants that kind of publicity? I'm surprised you would use what happened to Alexis to further you career anyway."

The fun playboy façade immediately dropped from Castle's face. "I'm not. I never would. The stories I write would be based on other things they've done or ideas I come up with based on what I see them do."

"Then why don't you just use your imagination then? You don't need to hound these people, and I don't have to smooth things over when you piss them off."

"I need realism." Rick pleaded.

"Realism? This from the man that had Derrick Storm jump out of a plane and glide to earth using a blanket, seat cushion, and the serving dolly?"

"Exactly. It was cool to write and envision, but everyone knows it can't happen. These books would read like war biographies. Everything that occurs would have the ring of truth to it."

Paula decided to try another track. "You know, if you do this, your military past will come out."

"Paula." Castle said warningly.

"I would do everything I could to keep it covered, you know that. This will draw attention to yourself. The over the top stuff with Storm? People let that slide. You start doing serious military fiction, people are going to have questions and they will find answers."

Castle sat for a minute in thought. "I'm not ashamed of my service, Paula."

Paula stood from her chair, walked around her desk, perching herself on it in front of Castle. "That's not what I'm getting at here. You have created an image, the slightly wild, fun loving playboy who travels the world and chases women. You write this, and the truth comes out about who are, who you really are, can you handle that? Are you prepared to stop hiding behind the Richard Castle character and be Richard Rogers?"

* * *

Castle walked out of Paula's office and waited for the elevator. This was worth the risk. Nobody would be able to find out anything about his service record anyway. The whole thing had been scrubbed after the last time out. He couldn't even get information on himself and he had been there. The door opened and he rode alone to the bottom floor. As he reached the sidewalk and turned to walk back to the loft his phone vibrated. Looking down he saw that it was his mother.

"Mother."

"Richard! Come home. Right now."

"What? What's happened?"

"It's Alexis. She needs you."

Castle stopped his leisurely walk and hailed a cab to take him the rest of the rest of way home.

As he opened the door to the loft and crossed the threshold he called out. "Mother!"

"Upstairs Richard!"

He took the steps three at a time. Reaching the top he called out again. "Mother?"

"Here Richard."

Her voice was coming from Alexis's room. He sprinted down the hall. The sight that greeted him as he rounded the door broke his heart. There sat Alexis curled in a ball, gripping her grandmother's shoulders, crying, with her eyes squeezed shut.

Martha looked up at Castle with despair in her eyes. "She woke up screaming. I can't get her to stop."

Castle rushed across the room to the bed wrapping both is mother and his daughter in his arms. "Alexis? Honey? What's wrong?"

"I woke up, the room was dark. I thought I was back in the shipping container. I thought the rescue was a dream. I was so scared." She sniffed and took a ragged breath. "And now I'm…I'm…I don't know. I'm still scared. I can't stop." More tears slid down her pale cheeks.

Castle simply pulled her closer and began stroking her hair. "I have you. Daddy has you. You are safe. You are home." Castle held her just like that until she drifted off again. He went to the closet, opened the door, and flipped on the light. He wanted to be sure that she didn't wake up in the pitch black again. Walking back over to the bed, he placed a gentle kiss on Alexis's forehead and headed downstairs.

He found his mother in the kitchen. "I shouldn't have left this morning. I should have seen this coming."

Martha sighed. "Richard. Did you check on her this morning before you left?"

"Of course."

"How many times did you check on her last night?"

"A couple." Castle answered sheepishly.

"Richard!"

"Eleven. I checked on her eleven times."

"During any of those times did you see any warning signs for what happed this morning?"

Castle rifled through his memories of the night before pulling every image of his sleeping daughter. "No." He conceded.

"Then there is nothing you could have done. Martha set down her glass of juice as she headed toward her son. She grabbed his hands. "You didn't do anything wrong. You took care of her the best way you knew how. Now that you know there is a problem, you can take the next steps to deal with it."

"Do you think she will go to therapy?" Castle asked.

"I think that depends on how you approach her with the idea. You are going to have to convince her that there is nothing wrong with her. That talking to someone is perfectly healthy and necessary thing to do."

"It is." Castle looked at his mother wide eyed.

"Yes, to you and I. But this is a seventeen year old girl we are talking about here." Castle started to object. "A mature, incredibly intelligent, very responsible seventeen year old, but a teenager none the less."

"I assume you have a suggestion, Mother." Castle raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Have this Miss Beckett talk to her."

"Why?"

"Because you are her father and I'm her grandmother. She isn't going to listen to us. To this Miss Beckett, that saved her life, she will listen. A successful, dynamic, independent woman tells her that it is perfectly normal. Who do you think has a better chance of getting her to see some one?"

Castle had been working up to an argument, but deflated at his mother's question. "I'm not saying you are right, but I see your point."

* * *

Kate didn't even look at her phone when it rang. She simply picked it up off her desk and hit the button to answer.

"Beckett."

"Miss Beckett, this is Richard Castle."

Kate froze. The only person she had been thinking about all day and the last person she expected to ever speak to was on the other end of the phone.

Castle thought that maybe the call had be disconnected. "Miss Becket?"

"Yes. I'm sorry just finishing some paperwork." Kate rolled her eyes at herself.

"Ah, the glamorous side of the mercenary life."

Kate willed herself not to laugh. The joke wasn't that funny and she was not trying to impress Richard Castle. She wasn't. "What can I do for you Mr. Castle?"

"I need your help. Alexis is having nightmares about the kidnapping. She needs to go to therapy, but I'm just her father, so my opinion doesn't matter. I know that she was very impressed by you and I was hoping that you could speak to her, woman to teenage woman and show her that it's not a big deal. I'm hoping that she will listen to you."

Kate began to have a series of flashbacks. She remembered how lost she was when her mother passed. The spiraling hole of depression that she fell down. Her father had tried so hard to reach her, but she just hadn't listened. She remembered every detail of the day Maddie had driven her to a 'friend's' place and it had turned out to be a therapist. Her father and several other friends had been there waiting on her. She had fought so hard against them and then broken down in tears in front of everyone. It had been her bottom.

If she could stop someone else from hitting bottom she absolutely would.

"Absolutely, Mr. Castle."

"Excellent. I'll let her know you are coming."

"No. Don't do that. I'll stop by this afternoon if that his alright. Just let it appear like I'm checking up on a client. I'll see if she wants to talk. We don't want to make a big deal out of this."

"Thank you Miss Beckett. It's nice to talk to a professional."

"Nope. Not in this case. I just know what it's like to be a teenage girl. And call me Kate, Mr. Castle."

"Only if you call me Rick, Kate."

She wasn't going to blush. She wasn't going to…dammit. She blushed. "I'll see you this afternoon, then, Rick."

"This afternoon."

She hung up the phone before she did anything else to embarrass herself.

* * *

As she raised her hand to knock on the door it occurred to Kate that she would be less nervous if she was kicking in a door with armed gunmen on the other side. As the door swung open she did her best to stop her stomach from dropping into her feet. She was determined not to fan girl over the ruggedly handsome writer. Ruggedly handsome? She internally rolled her eyes at herself.

"Miss Beckett." Castle greeted her. "Please come in."

As she stepped through the door, Kate was surprised by the size of the loft and its furnishing. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but it was very tasteful and understated. Her eyes wandered around the space. Off to the right she was an open door that lead to what appeared to be an office. It struck her that some of her favorite books were written in that very office.

"Miss Beckett!"

Kate turned just in time to get embraced by a red head that had flung herself from bar stool and flown across the room.

"Hello Alexis. How are you?" Kate looked down into the eyes of the girl wrapped around her. She saw several emotions pass through the girl's eyes before she answered.

"I'm doing OK. Why are you here?" Alexis blushed. "I didn't mean that how it sounded. It's nice to see you, but I'm surprised to see you."

Kate smiled. "No problem. We like to follow up with our clients. Check on them and see how they are doing. What you went through is quite an ordeal and far out of most people's experience. Many people try to get through it on their own. It doesn't work out to well for them, most of the time."

Alexis narrowed her eyes. "Dad talked to you didn't he?"

Kate never even considered lying. "Yes. Yes he did." She could see the girls temper rising. "Don't be so hard on him. He's worried about you."

"I'm fine." Alexis huffed and crossed her arms.

"I remember being fine."

Alexis's eyes widened. "What?"

"My mother was murdered when I was 19. She was killed in an alley while dad and I waited at a restaurant for her to arrive. It destroyed me and my father. I knew I was unhappy but I honestly thought I was alright. One Saturday one of my best friends showed up at my house saying we were going to a party. I didn't really feel like it, but she didn't give me a choice. We pulled up to a house with a lot of cars in the driveway, several I recognized. Inside that house were many of my friends, my aunt, my father, and a psychiatrist. It was an intervention. I was livid. I was yelling and cursing. I was pointing at everyone, saying things I don't even remember. My dad stood up, opened his arms, and said 'I miss her too'. That's when I broke down crying in his arms. Standing there in front of friends and family, I hit bottom and realized I needed help. It took me two years to get back to what I felt was normal. It wouldn't have taken that long if I had just reached out for help sooner." Beckett wiped her face as a tear slid down her cheek. "Don't do things the hard way like I did. Talk so someone. Talk to anyone. Tell them what you feel, what you think. It really does help."

Alexis wasn't sure how to respond. The tough, strong, confident woman that she had met several days ago was showing her a side that she was sure most people never saw. "Can I talk to you?"

A small smile appeared on Kate's face. "Of course, but I'm not a professional. You really should talk to someone who is knowledgeable about these things." Kate considered something for a moment. "We have a psychiatrist on staff at LGM, a Dr. Burke. Everyone sits down with him every six months, at least. Dad insisted on it when he started the company. Most of us talk to him more than that. I can get you in to see him."

"So you can keep tabs on me?" Alexis was suspicious.

"No. Anything you say to him stays between you and him. If you want to see someone else, I can reach out to other people I know. I just thought…"

Alexis shook her head. "That was mean. I'm sorry. I guess I really do need to talk to someone. I'm not really acting like myself."

"You've been through a lot. It's expected. I'll talk to Burke and see if I can't get you in this week."

"Thank you. Kate."

"No problem."

Alexis looked around toward the kitchen to see what her father was doing, but immediately saw it was empty. "He left the room?"

Kate pointed toward a closed door. "He went that way."

"To his office? He's going to explode if someone doesn't go tell him you convinced me to see someone. Between his over-protectiveness and his natural curiosity, I'm surprised he left the room."

"He cares a lot about you. He thought it would be easier if it was just me and you talking."

A smile crossed Alexis's face. "So he did ask you to come over." It wasn't a question.

Color rose in Beckett's cheeks. "You got me. Don't be too hard on him. He was worried about you."

"Not too hard." Alexis reached over and grabbed the remote to the TV. "Let's see how long he can stop himself from coming to check on us." With that she clicked on the TV and settled into the couch.


End file.
